Tracy Chapman became the first black woman in history to receive sole songwriting credit at #1 country, thanks to Luke Combs’ cover of her 1988 song “Fast Car.” It’s now at number one on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated July 8).
witty Rolling Stone It is noted that Chapman is the fourth black woman to own it any writing credit on the No. 1 country song. The club currently occupied was joined by Alice Randall, who co-wrote Trisha Yearwood’s 1994 single “XXX’s and OOO (American Girl)”; Ester Dean, who co-wrote “Champagne Night” for Lady A in 2020; and Tayla Parx, who co-wrote Dan + Shay’s 2021 single “Glad You Exist.”
Combs’ version of “Fast Car” is the second single from his latest album, get old. Earlier this month, it rose from No. 8 to No. 4 on the Hot 100, surpassing the No. 6 peak of Chapman’s original, which Combs said was his “first favorite song ever”. As of this week, it’s at number two on the Hot 100.
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“I remember listening to that song with my dad in his truck when I was probably four years old,” Combs recently told Music Mayhem. “He had a cassette tape, and we had this old brown camper F-150. We drove around this thing, and he had a cassette player in there, and I have the original cassette—my dad brought it to me a couple of years ago… I have the device, and I carry it around in my store.”
Aside from Combs, “Fast Car” has been covered by way too many artists to keep track of, including Sam Smith and Jamila Woods. You can hear the country star perform it during his massive world tour, which you can pick up tickets for here.
